Resources for mental wellbeing

However you're handling things, we're here for you.

As lockdown slowly eases, it's vital that we look after our mental health. Many of us are finding this time challenging, but if you’re struggling with feelings of isolation and need to speak to someone, or want some tips on how to stay active and maintain your mental health, we can support you.

Mental Wellbeing Check-in

Many blind and partially sighted people have faced anxiety, sadness and even fear about the unique challenges faced during the past two years.

Our Sight Loss Advice Service offers a free Mental Wellbeing Check-in over the phone with British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)-registered counsellors with sight loss experience, to give you emotional support.

In an hour-long call with a counsellor, you will have space to share feelings, explore coping strategies and any further support needs you may have. The session will address some of the feelings created by the recent situation, including anxiety and distress, and help you recognise that accepting you have these feelings is a positive step.

Our Mental Wellbeing Check-ins were previously called Emergency mental health sessions. We updated the name to better reflect the support on offer.

These sessions are available to anyone with sight loss living in the UK.

If you're struggling with your mental wellbeing and would benefit from support, you can register for a one-off check-in by completing our booking form:

Mental Wellbeing Check-in booking form

Bereavement support groups

Any loss or bereavement has been magnified for a lot of people during the coronavirus pandemic, even if not directly related to the virus. In response to this, our Sight Loss Counselling Team has launched support groups for people with sight loss who have recently suffered a bereavement.

Our Seeing it Through Bereavement groups provide a supportive setting in which you'll be able to:

Talk about the way you feel
Gain support from people who understand what you're going through
Explore and learn ways of dealing with difficult feelings.

More information on Bereavement support groups

Listen to our mental health podcast

Amanda Hawkins, RNIB's Specialist Lead for Counselling and Wellbeing, spoke with Dr Mhairi Thurston, who has a vision impairment, about how the pandemic affected people with sight loss emotionally.

Our tips for maintaining your mental health

We have a series of good mental health guides, which covers breathing exercises, tips for sleeping well, recognising the signs of loneliness, building your resilience and more, that can help you improve your mental wellbeing.